Page 4 of All His Broken Pieces
“I’m not one hundred percent sure I understand why you suddenly changed,” I said quietly after he’d fed me a couple of bites of food.
“I’ve always liked you, Cove,” he said quietly. His words surprised me, considering how much of an asshole he used to be. “I just… I wasn’t out of the closet then. I don’t bother hiding it anymore. I haven’t come out and told anyone, but I’m sure most everyone we went to school with has figured it out by now.” He swallowed thickly. “I know being afraid of everyone treating me like I and everyone else treated you isn’t an excuse, but that was my reason for never coming out. And to continue fitting in, I just followed what most of everyone else was doing.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, pain lancing through my chest. “You were a coward,” I whispered.
He wrapped the arm holding the spoon around my chest. “I know, baby. I know I was. Nothing excuses what I did to you, and I’m living with that guilt every fucking day. I’m tearing myself up for it. But I want to make things right with you, baby boy. I’m dying to. After seeing you today, I can’t just let things stay like they were. I’ve got to try, even if you still end up hating me in the end.”
I shook my head. “Hating anyone isn’t in my nature, Langston,” I told him honestly. I drew in a deep breath, reaching up to rub my hand over his hairy arm. Fuck, he was so manly. “I just feel sorry for you.”
He nuzzled my neck. “This world doesn’t deserve someone like you, Cove,” he whispered. “You’re too good, too light.”
He was saying that now. If he ever found out about what went on inside my head, he’d change his mind.
“Here—take another bite for me, baby.”
I opened my mouth, accepting the bite he fed me. Once I was done eating, he finally ate, and then, he washed my dishes, putting them away for me, not letting me do a damn thing.
It was… nice.
And then, he cuddled me on the couch, both of us watching I Love Lucy until we fell asleep.
And for the first time in as long as I could remember, I didn’t have nightmares. I slept peacefully—dreamlessly.
And as much as I hated to admit it, it was because of Langston.
Because for once, despite everything that had happened between us, he gave a fuck.
And I was so, so tired of being alone and fighting my darkness by myself.
Langston was sitting on my balcony with a steaming cup of coffee when I woke up the next morning. I stopped to admire him for a moment.
Was it really possible that he was actually here to stay?
After I’d come out as gay to my parents and my friends, I’d been shunned. My parents said I was an abomination, and every day, they tried shoving the Bible down my throat, yelling at me for choosing to live in sin. Everyone at school treated me like I had the plague, as if they breathed the same air I did, they’d somehow change sexualities.
It didn’t surprise me that I was clinging to the first person to show me an ounce of care and attention, even if our past was in shambles.
I’d take every bit of kindness I could in, even if it left me burning when it was all over.
The sliding door slid open, and I blinked, coming out of my head. Langston smiled at me. “You coming out here, baby boy?”
I yawned and stepped outside, taking a seat on the chair next to him. “How long have you been up?” I quietly asked him.
He shrugged. “Since my alarm went off for class. Decided to stay here with you instead after the evening you had.” He reached out and pushed some of my hair back from my face. “You have any plans today?”
I shook my head. “I’m off work.”
He frowned. “No school?”
I cringed and shook my head. “I didn’t feel like pulling out student loans.”
“Baby,” he breathed, shaking his head, “you’re so fucking smart. Why wouldn’t you go to college? Why wouldn’t your parents help you?”
My throat clogged with tears. I lurched to my feet and rushed inside, heading for my room. Langston called my name, scrambling after me, and he managed to catch my bedroom door before I could shut it. Tears streaked down my cheeks.
Years had gone by, but it never hurt any less to know that my parents were all too happy to boot me out on my ass the night I graduated. I used what money I had to get a bus ticket to the nearest city, and I stayed in a homeless shelter for an entire month while I busted my ass at two jobs to get enough money saved up to get this apartment.
“Baby, look at me.” Langston grasped my face in his hands and forced my head up. “Look at me, baby boy.” I hiccuped, his face blurry through my tears. “What happened? What did I say? Was it your parents?”
